Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: frank

Order: Keeper of the Cog

Social: Website / / /

A lifelong Velominatus, the history and culture within cycling fascinates Frank (pronounced in Dutch and Flemish as “Fränk”) and, if given even the vaguest of excuses, will discuss it ad nausium. A devoted cycling aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Question? Email me.

@frank's activity:

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@frank's posts:

  1. Big shakeup; we lost Santambrogio and after the second rest day swaps, our standings have shifted. Provisional Race Results 1. NIBALI Vincenzo 2. EVANS Cadel 3. URAN URAN Rigoberto 4. SCARPONI Michele 5. NIEMIEC Przemyslaw Provisional VSP Standings … »

Cycling is a mighty sport with a rich and complex history. Every company, racer, piece of kit, and component has a legend, a story behind it; in many cases it also has a personal and nostalgic connection to our lives.  While this particular sport is steeped in tradition, it is also fiercely modern, a fact that serves only to deepen its complexity...

@frank's posts:

  1. @thebaron Me too. Having a old loyal mutt myself, this brings a tear to my eye. Awesome. »

Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very m...

@frank's posts:

  1. @mouse Lets see here, we’ve got a TDF winner and (presumptive) two-time Giro runner-up against a talented kid who won a second-rate one-week stage race. Brainstorm! Lets put the rookie in! »

In most situations, silence is an ominous thing that signals impending doom. Having never been in any danger myself, I base this largely on my experience watching box-office movies. As a general rule, I use Hollywood as the principal source of information on all subjects as they relate to doom and politics, principally because I’m loath t...

@frank's posts:

  1. @mcsqueak Check the spokes, as @paolo suggests, but also the skewers and the spacers between cogs, though those generally seem to emanate as creaks more than clicks. The skewers are a deadly thing as well; they can really creak, especially after a rainy … »

  2. @paolo Absolutely right, matey. Silently suffering together, it is a beautiful thing. The fact is, Cycling is beautiful in all its forms, except recumbentism. »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@frank's posts:

  1. @mouse I’ll wait at the top of a good descent if I think there’s a car within reach on the way down. A motorcycle I can follow, a car? No fucking way. Especially in the PNW, where we have drivers from British Columbia and Oregon fighting it out for the… »

In most situations, silence is an ominous thing that signals impending doom. Having never been in any danger myself, I base this largely on my experience watching box-office movies. As a general rule, I use Hollywood as the principal source of information on all subjects as they relate to doom and politics, principally because I’m loath t...

@frank's posts:

  1. @Ron Everyone gets bored on a long, solo ride. The trick is not minding that it hurts. Training alone is about exploring the darkest corners of yourself. On a 12 hour solo ride, things get very musty in the ol’ mind. Doubt, obsession on the inconsequenti… »

  2. @wiscot East Maui Loop; 170km, 2200km. Bidons: 2. Food: none. Pace: moderate. Lost one bidon on the bumpy section but did refill the other one once. That’s training. »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@frank's posts:

  1. @PT Sorry to seem obsessive, but tall guys is my specialty and I’m hugely invested in understanding what/how they ride. I am only about 6’4″ but have the inseam of a guy much taller. We tall guys are fucked as far as center of mass goes, and we have comp… »

The Velominati have our own set of nicknames and terms which have developed over time through posts and correspondence. Some of these are names of landmarks or terms in cycling; others are nicknames for some of the riders in the pro peloton. While not intended to be offensive or derogatory, the nicknames in the list represent the riders’ pe...

@frank's posts:

  1. @VanBrudenrijden Thats the fucking spirit, mate, except that its covered under Steerectile Dysfunction. »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@frank's posts:

  1. @RedRanger Yeah, that’s Ryder’s bike – I was wondering about a source for JVS riding a 56. But talk about slammed – no head set top cap to get the bars low enough! »

Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very m...

@frank's posts:

  1. @brett Seconded. That thing is ridiculous. Wear arm warmers or a jacket like the rest of us. @ChrisO Hee-hee. »

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@frank's posts:

  1. No change to the GC today. Here’s hoping the racing kicks up a bit again; that was an awfully large group to finish together on such a big climb. »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@frank's posts:

  1. @PT Do you know where you found that? Modern tall Pros do ride relatively smaller frames for reasons I’ve written about many times, but Hesj is closer to 6’2 and might ride a 56; JVS rides a 61cm, as far as I know. That ain’t no 56. »

Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very m...

@frank's posts:

  1. @the-farmer And don’t wear a YJA. @G’rilla +1 badge to you, matey. Spot the fuck on. »

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@frank's posts:

  1. Despite the weather and several riders losing time, there was not much change to the GC; Gesink dropped out of contention  and Scarples fell further back as well, but the only big change to the overall is that Santambrogio took Gesink’s spot in fourth. … »

Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very m...

@frank's posts:

  1. I think it was @Cyclops who said that black is the only color that truly does not occur in nature and is therefor not used in any (US) camo. That means that the full Zwarte V-Kit – especially in it’s latest 100% black incarnation, is the most visible cycl… »

  2. @ten B Designed by Cipo, so it gets a pass. It is somehow awesome in its garishness and Rule Violations. Slideshow: Fullscreen: Download: Powered by DM Albums™ »

  3. @DerHoggz Its right up there with mirrors; a plea to control the uncontrollable – to make yourself feel safer, which is not in itself offensive. The fact that it comes at the price of all aesthetic integrity is what makes it such an unforgivable offense… »

  4. @Mike_P I ran a red light yesterday because I wasn’t heavy enough to trigger the sensor. Sat there for two light cycles and lost my patience. Other than that, its a horrible habit. Same with stop signs, though I’m inclined to not come to a complete sto… »

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@frank's posts:

  1. @eightzero Evie’s got some good shit to say. If only more riders had her background, things would get done! *runs and hides* »

Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very m...

@frank's posts:

  1. @brett thats a lot of tough talk coming from a guy wearing a lantern. »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@frank's posts:

  1. I was reminded of another reason to weight the outside foot: it unweights your saddle so you’re not a sack of potatoes when you hit a bump you don’t see mid-corner. Its the same principle as riding cobbles or riding a cross bike or a hard-tail MTB: unwei… »

  2. Here’s a news flash for all you aspiring photographers. You know what kind of fancy-dancy high tech camera Pedale used for the cover shot? No? Oh, HIS FUCKING iPHONE. »

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@frank's posts:

  1. Looks like Cav’s custom Venge has his name written in Velomiskrit. »